Monday, 16 September 2013

Agni-5 on target, despite glitches

Three hours
after the sun rose out of the lake-calm Bay of Bengal, another ball of fire,
the Agni-5 intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM), roared into the sky on
Sunday morning.

Twenty
minutes later, the warhead --- a real nuclear bomb in every respect except for
the nuclear core --- splashed down almost 5000 kilometres away in the southern
Indian Ocean. Two Indian ships were stationed there to capture the warhead
explosion, the footage relayed in real time to the Mission Control Centre on
Wheeler Island.

“(The
second launch of the Agni-5) is a perfect and complete success, meeting all our
mission objectives. We have got the data right up to impact, including the
terminal event. Congratulations to all of you,” he said.

This
eventually successful mission saw plenty of unforeseen drama, which had seemed
a mere theoretical possibility when the day began with the DRDO’s leadership
praying for success at a small temple on Wheeler Island.

After that
scientific nod to the need for divine support, a simulated political order for
a nuclear strike was received from New Delhi. Vice Admiral SPS Cheema, who
heads the Strategic Forces Command, keyed in the appropriate launch codes and
preparations began for the launch. But then a fault was discovered in the
telemetry systems of one of the ships positioned along the missile’s flight
path, which meant that flight data might not be gathered for part of the
missile’s flight.

Drawing on
their experience of tens of missile launches, the DRDO missile team decided to
go ahead with the launch. The missing data, said Chander later, would be
captured at various other telemetry stations.

The
countdown began but was halted just 14 seconds from launch, when one of the
missile components signalled a malfunction. By now, storm clouds were gathering
over the island, the weather another concern. Mission Control quickly
determined that it was a false alarm and, amid knife-edge tension, the
countdown began again.

As the
rocket engines burst into life and the Agni-5 smoothly lifted off the lauch
pad, a roar went up from the packed gathering. After that, it was a textbook
mission all the way.

After 90
seconds, the giant 40-tonne first stage dropped away, having propelled the
Agni-5 to an altitude of about 36 kilometres. 75 seconds later, the 10-tonne
Stage 2 rocket was jettisoned, having propelled the missile up to 110
kilometres. Four minutes after launch, with the Agni-5 now 220 kilometres above
the earth, the 2.5-tonne Stage 3 rocket fell away.

By now, the
19-metre-high, 50-tonne missile that blasted off from Wheeler Island was a mere
1.2 tonne projectile, hurtling through space at almost 6 kilometres per second.
Inside this was a simulated nuclear warhead and the navigation package that
would guide it precisely to its impact point.

Re-entering
the atmosphere about 80 kilometres above the earth, the missile encountered its
final test, which was to maintain the temperature inside the projectile at a
balmy 40 degrees Centigrade even as atmospheric friction heated the carbon
composite outer casing to 2500-3000 degrees. The Agni-5 passed that test too;
the warhead’s arrival at the target was evident from the explosion visible on
the live feed from the ship in the target area.

Said former
Strategic Forces Command chief, Air Marshal KK Matthews, at a debriefing after
the mission, “This was a special launch; one where I saw fantastic
decision-making amidst great tension. We had three small big problems and the
decision could easily have been to cancel the launch.”

After its
second successful Agni-5 test, the DRDO is developing a canisterised version of
the missile. Congratulating his scientists after the launch, the DRDO chief
urged them to test-fire the canisterised Agni-5 within “a few months”.

Chander
also said that today’s test demonstrated that the Agni-5 was ready for production.
In fact, at least three test-flights of the canisterised Agni-5 (which is the
form in which the operational missiles will be deployed) are planned before
production begins. But the production stage involves placing orders of “long
lead items” with suppliers well ahead of time, and that is likely to be done
soon. The Agni-5 project has been cleared by the cabinet, which means that
funds can be allocated without lengthy procedures.

India’s
military has so far operationally deployed the Prithvi missile (350 km), the
Agni-1 (1000 km), Agni-2 (2000 km) and Agni-3 (3000 km). The Agni-5 will extend
the reach of India’s nuclear deterrent to 5000 kilometres, covering of China,
West Asia, South East Asia and large parts of Africa.

The DRDO is
simultaneously developing technologies for the Agni-6 missile. In an earlier
conversation with Business Standard, the DRDO chief said that the Agni-6
will carry a massive three-tonne warhead, thrice the weight of the
one-tonne-class warheads that Agni missiles have so far carried. This expanded
payload will allow each Agni-6 missile to launch several nuclear warheads,
called multiple independently targetable re-entry payloads (MIRVs), with each
one capable of being directed towards a different target. Each warhead ---
called a maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV) --- can perform evasive maneuvers
while hurtling towards its target, confusing enemy air defence missiles that
are trying to destroy them mid-air.

So this was without the canister and gas generator combo. well now a test of production missile by user will put more confidence in India's missile power. I wish all scientists good luck and thankyou with salute from Indian citizen!

I was comparing Agni V's specs to the Polaris/Poseiden/Trident I - all retired US SLBMs and it seems that all of them are significantly lighter and shorter than the Agni V. The first two were 2 stage missiles with a 4600 km range and the third was a 3 stage missile with a 7400 km range (and MIRV). They all appear to outperform the Agni V which has a weight of 50 tonnes, 3 stages and currently a single warhead and a 5000 km range. Could you shed some light on this Ajai? Thanks.

Would b nice to see side by side comparison of Agni-5 Vs. its peers done by Ajai ji.

I work in high-tech sector and such articles gives joy and helps reinforce personal commitment to quit USA one day, return home and proudly work for ISRO/DRDO/HAL.

On a side note, Hanuman Prasad ji,

You are maintaining a good website. The other day I was trying to find the fast version of Hanuman Chalisa on the internet which is played out as background music in Ramayan(on Zee TV). Please let me know if you have it.